The President of the German Bishops’ Conference, Georg Bätzing, sees the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the attack by Hamas on Israel as a “test of the Christian peace ethic”.
“The current conflicts painfully show that, in order to protect human dignity, the use of force can be justified as a last resort, as long as it corresponds to the principle of proportionality” the Limburg bishop writes in a guest contribution for the “Frankfurter Rundschau”.
“Does this mean that we can abandon the peace ethical foundations of the Christian message, particularly the commandment of loving one’s enemies? I do not think so” Bätzing says. “That people, often at high personal risk, decide on non-violent resistance in Ukraine and elsewhere, is commendable; to demand such a stance in the face of an acute war of aggression would, however, be extremely cynical.”
Bätzing speaks of “peace ethical dilemmas”: “On the one hand, we are opposed to the use of armed force; not using it, however, would mean the certain death of innocent people. Dilemmas do not allow for simple solutions. Whoever claims the opposite is simply a populist. True peace cannot be dictated from above nor forced with armed force.”
Bätzing has been bishop of Limburg since 2016 and has been the president of the German Bishops’ Conference since 2020.